Current NICE guidelines say that Abatacept (one of the many biologics, anti-TNFs) should not be used in R.A. patients who have not responded to other biologics. Now a Cochrane Review (a review designed to help policy makers and healthcare workers make decisions on what is and isn’t effective) says that Abatacept IS effective in R.A. treatment. NICE are already in the process of reviewing their current guidance, but a decision is not expected until June 2010. The review strongly recommends that for the moment Abatacept is not used WITH other biologics – but says nothing about use if other biologics have been tried and have failed, which suggests that perhaps NICE should be recommending it for those with rheumatoid arthritis who have failed on other anti-TNFs.

Like all anti-TNFs, how safe it is in the long term has not yet been established – because none of them have been around long enough, but the Cochrane review (by Dr. Lisa Maxwell in Ottawa) showed that patients given Abatacept were twice as likely to achieve a 50% improvement in symptoms such as pain and the number of tender and swollen joints.

In the meantime a study on intranasal administration of recombinant Human Cartilage glycoprotein-39 for treatment of R.A. has failed. Personally I don’t fancy a regular treatment via my nostrils … although if I had moderate to severe R.A. I guess I’d try anything once! However it didn’t show any improvement over placebo, so I dare say I will never need to try that one. Phew.

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A bit about me

My name is not Pollyanna and I'm not a penguin. If you'd not worked out the last bit you should probably stop reading this and seek out a psychologist.

This is a blog about me and rheumatoid arthritis - sounds like fun, huh? Well I'm hoping it'll be a bit more fun than it sounds - hence the Pollyanna part. I'm going to try to stay positive about it and play 'Pollyanna's glad game' - finding reasons to be cheerful basically.

If you really want to know more see the 'About me' page.

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